April 25, 2023 Announcement of the Infrastructure Development Plan for a Digital Garden City Nation　[Revised Edition]

The Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (MIC) formulated the Infrastructure Development Plan for a Digital Garden City Nation in March 2022 and has been promoting efforts related to the development of digital infrastructure in accordance with this plan. Based on the progress and society changes in, MIC has revised the plan.

1. Revision of the plan

MIC considers the development of digital infrastructure, such as optical fibers, 5G, data centers, submarine cables, etc., essential for realizing the Vison for a Digital Garden City Nation. Based on this belief, MIC formulated the Infrastructure Development Plan for a Digital Garden City Nation in March 2022 to promote integrated and effective measures for developing these infrastructures. In accordance with this plan, MIC has been promoting efforts related to developing digital infrastructure.

On the other hand, the social conditions surrounding our country have been changing continuously since this plan was formulated. Expectations for improved network reliability and the importance of digital utilization in rural areas have increased. The development of digital infrastructure has become increasingly indispensable for realizing the Vision for a Digital Garden City Nation. Therefore, this plan has been revised to strengthen infrastructure development efforts further.

In the future, based on the revised plan, while also utilizing regional councils, MIC will promote:

• the elimination of underdeveloped optical fiber areas and the transition of publicly installed optical fibers to privately installed optical fibers
• the further development of wireless infrastructure(including 5G) and the implementation of advanced solutions in an integrated manner
• the development of regional data centers and submarine cables
• the early deployment of non-terrestrial networks (NTN) in Japan
• research and development of the next-generation information and communications infrastructure “Beyond 5G (6G)”.

2. Outline of the revised plan

The Infrastructure Development Plan for a Digital Garden City Nation [Revised Edition] provides the current status, challenges, policy for developing infrastructures and specific policy measures concerning the following matters, as well as a roadmap for future initiatives.

(1) Fixed broadband (e.g., optical fibers)

(2) Wireless/IoT infrastructure (e.g., 5G)

(3) Data centers/Submarine cables

(4) Non-terrestrial networks (NTN)

(5) Beyond 5G (6G)

* The published materials are in Japanese only.